~ an enthusiastic meddler exploring photography

Repeating myself

Now, as I look through my own photostream on flickr, I realise that to everyone else a large proportion of the photographs must look pretty similar. Some of them are almost identical for a number of reasons – usually equipment comparisons – but others are just similar. This reflects a few different aspects of my approach to photography.

Many of the locations occur again and again, mainly due to the limited time I have available. Photography is not my job, but if I have a spare half hour and need to unwind, then I’ll often go for a wander with one or more cameras. So most of the time this means strolling around Hursley. I am very fortunate to work in a great location which in itself provides plenty of material to work with, but is also surrounded by a picturesque village and rolling Hampshire farmland. So while I’ll admit I’m running out of subjects, even that presents a challenge as I try to find new ways to photograph them.

Which leads in nicely to the other repeated locations. There are a lot of other places, in the New Forest for example, that I’ll visit over and over. The permutations of geography and light throughout the course of a year mean that repeated visits offer new opportunities even in the same location. Sometimes other things have changed – a fallen tree, a flood – that offer up a twist on the familiar.

Another aspect is what I could self critically describe as my lack of adventurousness in subject. My photography reflects my other interests to a certain degree, so you see a lot of landscapes, churches and very few people. There’s also a lot of close focus “bokeh” shots which no doubt inspire plenty of “meh”s. But this is just me stumbling towards some sort of style of my own. Discovering what works and what doesn’t, how elements in a scene fit together to strengthen or weaken a composition. that sort of stuff.